Early Human Civilzations
What do Historian's study wen they are examining a historical event?
Society's Culture religion, politics, and economics. They try to find patterns in past events.
What did fire provide for early human civilizations?
Fire provided heat, light and enabled people to cook their food.
What does it mean when soil is fertile?
Areas that produced bigger and better crops.
What does Mesopotamia's name mean? What two rivers bordered it?
Name meaning: Land between two rivers
Two rivers: Tigris and Euphrates
What were Sumerian cities the center of?
Sumerian cities were the center of trade.
Why does history change? Do historians always see eye to eye?
Historians use different evidence once they find evidence they interpret it. Historians may use different evidence. They do no always see eye to eye because they may draw different conclusions from the same evidence.
What is a primary source? What is an example of a primary source?
A document or artifact created by a person who witnessed a historical event.
Example: journal, diary, letters, etc.
What is specialization?
A skill in one kind of work.
What is a drought? How was it dangerous for villages?
A long period when too little rain falls. They are dangerous because it makes it hard for crops to be watered. When crops fail people starve.
What important inventions did the Sumerians create?
The plow, the wheel, pots/pottery, mathematics and a written language.
What are hunter-gatherers?
They hunted animals and gathered plants for food.
What is a secondary source? What is an example of a secondary source?
Work produced about a historical event by someone that who did not actually witness it.
Example: Textbooks
What are artisans?
People trained in particular skills or crafts.
How did the development of agriculture allow people to support themselves?
It allowed for them to be able to make their own food and create their own civilizations.
What is the Fertile Crescent? Where is it located?
The Fertile Crescent has rich soil and water that made the area good for farming. It was located from the Persian Gulf, through Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean sea.
What did early humans do with their tools?
They used tools to hunt and butcher animals. They also constructed simple forms of shelter.
What is irrigation and why is it important?
Watering of dry land using systems of ditches, pipes and streams. Allowed for more fertile soil which lead to the attraction of farmers and the growth of villages.
What did Catal Huyuk develop?
It was a complex and agricultural village that had fertile soil that produced crops of wheat, barley and peas.
What is polytheism and monotheism?
Polytheism- the belief of many gods.
Monotheism- the belief of just one God.
Who was Hammurabi? What did he develop? What empire did he rule?
He was a powerful king who ruled Babylon. He developed the Code of Law.
What did domesticated animals provide for early human civilizations?
Advantages- Food was more plentiful and people lived in larger groups and could withstand attacks from larger nomadic groups.
Disadvantages- Increased risks of fire, disease and floods.
What is a surplus? Why are they important?
More than what is needed and it allowed for trade with other civilizations.
Why did people develop writing? What is the earliest form of writing?
They created writing to meet business needs. They needed records of the exchange of goods. They wanted to be able to label their goods. The earliest form of writing was cuneiform.
Who founded the Persian Empire? Why was he great? Who ruled after him?
Cyrus the Great and he created a sense of humanity and freed the slaved. Cambyses took control after Cyrus the Great.